Philippine
Embassy Berne Chargé d’Affaires Margarita Ibayan welcomes the
conference participants.
Charge
d’Affaires Ibayan, Ms. Wenk and Prof. Werlen respond to comments
and questions of conference participants.
University of Berne Conference Re-Discovers
the Philippines from Different Perspectives
“Philippines in Perspectives,” a conference to
raise awareness and appreciation of the richness of Filipino culture
and society, was held last 14 May 2011 at the University of Berne, in
Berne, Switzerland.
Presenting
the different perspectives on the Philippines were Labor Attaché
Manuel Imson of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations
(Geneva), Ms. Irina Wenk of the Institute of Social Anthropology of
the University of Zurich, and Prof. Iwar Werlen, the head of the
Linguistics Institute at Berne University.
Mr.
Imson talked on “Aspects
of Philippine Migration”
by presenting the history of Philippine migration, its socio-economic
impact on Philippine society, and the Philippine Government’s
support mechanisms that protect the welfare of Filipino migrants all
over the world.
Ms.
Wenk’s “From
Prejudice and Displacement Towards A Self-Determined Future”
elaborated on indigenous land rights and the impact of the 1997
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) of the Philippines on the
rights and cultural identity of indigenous peoples.
Dr.
Werlen, in his talk “The
Philippine Languages and the Notion of a National Language
P/Filipino,”
gave an overview on the evolution of Philippine languages and
dialects, and how these shaped the Filipinos’ multi-lingual
/multi-cultural identity.
The
conference was participated in by a heterogeneous group of
Filipino, Swiss and Swiss-Filipino students, professionals and
researchers, totaling around 50.
The
event was organized by the Network of Integrated Pinoys or Noi-P,
a
network of young Filipino-Swiss professionals based in Switzerland,
with the support of the Philippine Embassy in Berne.
As
noted by Philippine Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Margarita S. Ibayan
in her welcome address to the participants, the conference will
certainly deepen understanding and relations between the peoples of
the Philippines and Switzerland.
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